April 17 ~ John 10:14-16
I am the good shepherd. I know my
sheep, and they know me. Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father,
and I give up my life for my sheep. I have other sheep that are not in
this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice.
Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
You
would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to know how crazy I am about
the little ones in our family…our two great-nephews and 3
great-nieces…some young cousins…the four children of a couple who are
precious to Greg and me. I adore these little ones and “would walk
across hot coals” for all of them. They call me “Aunt Debbie”...and I
know this will sound weird, but the children know me by my fragrance,
also. I don’t know if it’s my cologne – or the detergent/fabric
softener I use, but a couple of the mothers have told me that when I
leave their children clothes I’ve made them and other things, they have
mentioned that these things “smell like Debbie!” These children and their families are my "sheep".
I’ve
been doing a lot of substitute teaching in the children’s Sunday school
classes in the last few months. I’ve volunteered in the nursery…and I
accompanied Timothy’s class on an Earth Day field trip last week to help
his teacher keep up with everyone. I’ve spent a lot of time with
children who are not in my "sheep pen.” And I will tell you, they are
important to me, also. I love these children and care about their
welfare…and what they are learning about Jesus. And this is the part of
today’s scripture passage that struck me the most profoundly.
Jesus
is pretty well telling us that ours is not an exclusive club…that we
are His sheep…but so are other people – including folks we don’t even
know and love. I can tell you from years of teaching that there is
often that one child who tends to rub us the wrong way or gets on our
last nerve…he is obnoxious and disruptive…she is disheveled and smells
of stale cigarettes and more. This one just isn’t “loveable” like the
others…and that one makes us question why we teach in the first place.
I’m just being honest.
But the fact is that each child is
precious…and I know I’m not the only person who hopes and prays that her
“children” are not some of those that a teacher finds hard to love – a
child that is not in his/her “sheep pen.” My prayer is that we would
all pay attention to what Jesus is saying here…and that our desire and
our utmost goal would to become inclusive. We must work harder to seek
out “sheep” that are “not in our pen”…and bring them into the flock. We
must not do this because we are such superior Christians…but because
Jesus commands us to love one another and share His Good News with them –
and that means everyone!
I encourage you to take stock of your
surroundings. Think about the people you encounter – even briefly
and/or occasionally. How do you treat them? How do you suppose they see
you? Do you come off as someone who is “in the loop” while they are
not? Are you arrogant and narrow-minded in your Christian faith and
witness? Have you publicly declared even the slightest disdain for
people of a certain race, ethnic group, socio-economic level, sexual
orientation, religious belief or political leaning? Because every
single one of these people is potentially one of Jesus’ sheep, just like
you. Jesus died for them every bit as much as He died for you and me.
He wants to capture the heart of each and every one of them…to love
them and develop such a deep and abiding relationship with them that
they not only know His name - they recognize His “smell,” so to speak.
Jesus
talks of “one flock and one Shepherd”…so how on earth can we consider
any other relationship? How can we operate in an “us vs. them”
mentality on any level after reading this scripture passage? The answer
is abundantly clear…we cannot. We must not! So my question to you this day is this...”what sort of ‘sheep’ are you…and how are you treating the others?”
©2016 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment